My first truck was a 1986 Chev S-10 with the 2.5L 4 cylinder, 4 on the floor. I loved that truck. Paid $4000 for it used, and then drove it for another 230,000 kms. The only reason it stopped was because the body rusted away. It had gears instead of a timing belt and manual everything, so very little to break. The appeal of these trucks was that they were economical and simple, great for zipping around and doing small to mid size jobs. I could put a 45gal drum of diesel (abt 450 lbs) and 500 lbs of bait in it no problem, tow a utility trailer loaded with crap, haul the kayaks, load it with scuba gear, whatever. Problem was that everyone wanted to put in a bigger engine so they could "do more" but like everyone else has said, that just made it cost and mileage of a full size without the capacity.
I think there would still be a lot of appeal for an economical get-around truck, but as soon as someone designs something like that, the next person comes along and wants to "improve" it.
